As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, prior art systems for launching tubular food products toward a package loader typically include a hopper 8 equipped launcher/unscrambler 10 aligned with one or more intermediate bucketed belt(s) 12. The launcher 10 floods the intermediate belt with excess product (105-120%) most of which ends up properly aligned in buckets 14 positioned along the bucketed belt 12. Excess and misaligned product is removed by lateral rake 16. The rake 16 urges the removed excess product toward a return hopper 21 feeding a return belt 20 that directs product back to a single hopper 8.
In the foregoing known system, the fill rate of the intermediate belt 13 buckets 14 beyond the rake 16 is upwards of 95%. However, for a 100% fill rate to be obtained prior to the loader 24, a human product inspector 22 is positioned along the intermediate belt between the rake 16 and the loading head 24. The inspector 22 removes defective product (i.e., still casing covered, misshapen, cut/broken, etc.), placing it into the reject chute 28, replaces the defects, and fills remaining blanks among the passing buckets 14 with product selected from the replacement tray 26. Owing to the rapid and continuous action of the inspector 22, the fill rate then becomes 100% as the intermediate belt heads toward the loading head 24. The inspector 22, or a fellow co-worker inspector, can from time-to-time feed excess product to the inspector 22 location by manually raising/lifting/pivoting the rake 16 away from the intermediate belt 12, using manual lift handle 17, to allow a temporary product surge past the rake 16 to the inspection location. Excess product is removed by the inspector 22 into the replacement tray 26 and the inspector 22 can continue replacing defects and filling empty buckets 14 from the re-stocked tray 26.
The known system described above has little or no capacity for adjustment without stopping the entire line and re-setting respective belt speed ratios (intermediate 12, return 20, and launcher 10) and actions of the various system components. Some types of product may launch more quickly, fill the buckets more consistently, and have fewer rejects than other product owing to texture/length/girth. As a result, the entire line, or distinct parts of the line, may need to be sped up or slowed accordingly to obtain consistent operation.